Bill “Spaceman” Lee hasn’t come down yet. He still lives in the clouds. He still has a beer in his right hand and on his breath.
He still gets blasted by Don Zimmer, the latest time in the book Zimmer co-authored with Bill Madden: Zim, A Baseball Life.
“Oh boy, did he ever,” Lee said when asked if Zimmer torched him in the book.
“Any time he says something bad about me, it’s a good day. Check the source.”
The Zimmer/Lee feud is one of the most intense in the game.
Lee lives in Craftsbury, Vt. He sells maple syrup. He drinks a lot. He plays some ball. He “smuggles” bats to Cuba from Canada for Cuban third baseman Omar Linares.
“I drop them out of a helicopter like you see on ESPN,” Lee said.
Lee is doing a documentary on Cuban baseball for a PBS station out of Boston. He and author Randy White distributed $5,000 worth of baseball equipment last year and will return to see “if any of the equipment is left.”
“We’re rekindling the old Hemingway League in Cuba,” Lee said. “Randy White is an old sea captain who looks just like Hemingway.”
It’s a rough year for syrup, Lee lamented.
“The sap ain’t running,” he said. “The trees are too deep in snow. It’s a bad sugaring year. I sell the syrup on the street. It’s Vermont maple syrup. No motor oil in it. It’s $18 for a half gallon.”
Whatever, Spaceman.
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COX: BARRY’S BEST PLAYER IN BASEBALL
Bobby Cox has managed against Barry Bonds for years. Managing Bonds last November in Japan convinced Cox all the more of his opinion about the Giants left fielder.
In the eyes of Cox, Bonds is the best player in baseball. Period.
“He’s a cut above, no matter who you talk about,” Cox said. “There may be guys who have better stats, but it ain’t close.”
Cox echoed the sentiments of so many baseball professionals in saying there is no way to pitch Bonds.
“He’s on everything,” Cox said. “And he’s smart as hell. He works at it. He studies it. He’s a great, great player. He played his tail off every day and he was the MVP of every game. He’s a cut above.”
Arm strength is the one tool Bonds lacks.”
But Cox said. “he charges the ball so hard you can’t run on him.”
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JONES ARMED & DANGEROUS
Center fielder Andruw Jones made everyone who saw his throw that nailed Robin Ventura at the plate say wow again. Asked to remember the first time he dazzled a crowd with a throw, Jones couldn’t.
“I always had a pretty good arm,” he said. “I started out as a catcher and a pitcher, then I became an infielder, then they moved me to the outfield when I was about 15.”
Jones played third, second and shortstop after being moved from behind the plate. He has the capability to play one inning at each of the nine positions, but he said he does not have a desire to do so in a major league game and no manager would be dumb enough to try it with a talent as major as Jones.
“I would like to play shortstop in a major-league game,” Jones said. “Even if it’s only for one inning, I would like to do it. I think I would do all right.”
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WANT A NO-NO, PRAY FOR RAIN
The Hideo Nomo no-hitter game was delayed 43 minutes by a power outage. Anyone else sense a pattern developing here?
David Cone’s perfect game against the Expos in 1999 was delayed by 33 minutes. Tom Browning’s perfect game against the Dodgers in 1988 was delayed roughly 90 minutes.
Nomo struck out eight of nine batters from the sixth through eighth innings during his no-hitter of the Orioles.
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Don’t feel so defeated next time you have an inexplicable brain cramp during a ballgame. Even the smartest players in the world do the same on occasion.
Orioles center fielder Melvin Mora, who quickly gained Mets manager Bobby Valentine’s respect for his sound instincts, did something that would make a Little Leaguer wish he were in his room doing his homework.
Mora was trotting to second base on an overthrow when second-base umpire Brian Gorman told him to go to third, reminding him that it’s two bases on an overthrow.
Mora took him too literally and went directly to third without touching second. The Red Sox threw to second base on an appeal and Mora was called out.
“I couldn’t stop laughing a few innings later,” Orioles manager Mike Hargrove said. “I wasn’t laughing at the time.”
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SHEFF’S COOKIN’ AGAIN
The most predictable performance of the week was delivered by Dodgers left fielder Gary Sheffield. He needed to have a big Opening Day to bury the negative feelings toward him, and have a big day he did. Sheffield, booed in the early innings by the Dodgers’ faithful, homered to give Chan Ho Park a 1-0 win and won back the fans. Nobody in the industry will be shocked if Sheffield is traded after the season.
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No general manager is being watched more closely than Kevin Malone of the Dodgers. Insiders say if the Dodgers get out of the gate poorly, Malone could get canned two months into the season.Mets assistant general manager Jim Duquette, Marlins assistant GM David Littlefield and Padres scout Ted Simmons are among the names being discussed as possible replacements.
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Successful general managers know which prospects to surrender in trades. Giants GM Brian Sabean, one of the best, built his pitching staff by trading prospects. He acquired Livan Hernandez, Shawn Estes, Robb Nen, Felix Rodriguez and Alan Embree by dealing mostly young, overrated talent. The Giants parted with Mark Leiter, Salomon Torres, Jason Grilli, Nate Bump, Joe Fontenot, Mike Villano, Mick Pageler, Troy Brohawn, Chris Van Rossum, and Dante Powell. Only Grilli and Leiter are in the big leagues.
